Printing apparatus



May 13, 1930.

c. l.. PosT PRINTING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheety 1 Filed April 4, 1927 May 13, 1930. c. 1 PosT PRINTING APPARATUS Filed April 4, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 3 Sheets-She'et 5 c. l.. PQsT PRINTING APPARATUS Filed April 4, 1927 May 13, 1930.

. l @7776672227 Claudel-J Pos PaaniedjMay '13',- 1930 PATENT OFFICE CLAUDE L. Pos'r, oP CHICAGO, ILLINoIs i PRINTING APPARATUS Application led April 4, 1927. Serial No. 180,804.

My invention relates to printing apparatus and has among its other objects the provision of apparatus of the kind described which is convenient, compact, durable, eilicient andc satisfactory for use wherever found applicable.

A particular object of the invention is to provide improved means for drying the ink lupon a card,.sheet of paper, envelope or the like after theA printingoperation to prevent blurring thereof. One form of the invention is embodied in apparatusadapted to print cards, envelopes, or the like, the printed article being trans- -ferred to a conveyer which is advanced in a step-by-step manner so that the articles are distributed along vthe conveyer. The conveyer may be adjusted to operate at a plurality of speeds relative to a speed at which the articles are. printed and the conveyer may be moved into a pluralityof adjusted positions to accommodate cards of different sizes. Means is provided for insuring that the cards or envelopes will fall into predetermined positions upon the conveyer and suitable means is provided for subjecting the ink upon the printed articles to heat so that it will dry.

Many other objects and advantages of the construction herein shown and described will 30 be obvious to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein given.

To this end my invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of parts shown and described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like or corresponding parts:

Fig. l is a side elevation of apparatus em- 40 bodying the invention; v

' r-Fig. l2 is an enlarged section taken on llne 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 2; and

which may be of any suitable construction.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged elevation of mecha- In this instance, I have shown a printing machine of the kind shown and described more 'fully in my copending application, Serial No. 741,428, filed October 3, 1924, the feeding apparatus shown in that copending application being replaced by feeding apparatus which is designated lgenerally by the reference' character 11 and is more fully shown and described in my copending application, Serial No. 92,631, yfiled March 5, 1926. It will be noticed that the printing machine 10 comprises a type roll 14 and an impression roll 15 which are mountedin a frame '16 and that the frame 16 is mounted upon a table 17 comprising a top 18 and legs 19. Positioned 65 beneath the top 18 is a conveyer 20 which is adapted to receive articles to be printed in the printing machine 10, a conveyer 22 being adapted y to transfer the printed articles from the printing machine to the conveyer 20. Briefly, the operation is substantially as follows: Cards, sheets of paper, envelopes .or other articles which are to be printed are placed in the feeding apparatus 11 which delivers the articles to the printing machine 10 75 in such manner that they pass between the rolls 14 and 15 and are printed. When the cards leave the rolls 14 and 15 they are transferred by the conveyer 22 to the conveyer 20 which carries the articles underneath a heatu ing device 24 suspended from the table top 18 and then discharges them into any suitable v receptacle (not shown).

Inthe illustrated embodiment of the -invention, the printing machine 10 is prefer- 85 ably driven by an electrical motor 25, or the equivalent, adapted to drive a shaft 27. Adjustably mounted upon the shaft 27 is a friction wheel 28 engageable with a disc29 which is rigidly secured to a shaft 30 (see Fig. 3). 90 The shaft 30 is operatively connected to the rolls 14 and 15 and to the feeding apparatus 11 by means more fully shown and described in my copending applications.

Secured to the shaft 30 is a pinion 32 which 95 meshes with a pinion 33 and meshing with the pinion 33 is a pinion 34 which is secured to a shaft 35 rotatably journaledin the frame A1,6. As best shown in Fig. 3, the conveyer -22 comprises a roller 38 carried by ashaft 35 100 and trained around this roller is a belt 39 which is also trained around a roller 41 mounted upon a shaft 42, the shaft 42 being rotatably journaled in bars 44 which are secured to bracket members 45 mounted upon the table top 18. It is readily understood that when the printing machine 10 is in operation, the articles being printed will pass between the rolls 14 and l5 to the belt 39 which will carry them away from the rolls 14 and 15 and deposit them upon a belt 47 which forms part of the conveyer 20.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a plurality of cards 49 upon the belt 47 to illustrate the manner in which the cards are distributed upon the belt when they are .discharged from the beltA 39 onto the belt 47. The belt 47 is preferably trained over rollers 50 and 51, the roller 50 being carried by a shaft 52 which is rotatably journaled in a pair of bars pivotally secured to legs 19 of the table 17. As shown, a shaft 58 rotatably journaled in the free ends of the bars 55 is positioned adjacent to the shaft 52. i

The means for advancing the belt 47 to distribute the cards 49,-or the equivalent, thereon preferably comprises a link 60 which is pivotally connected by a pin 61, or the equivalent, to a link 63, the link 63 being pivotally connected to a boss or collar 65 constrained to rotate with the printing roll 14.

The link 63 is adapted to drive inking mech anism which is designated, in this instance, by the reference character 66. The construction is such that the link 63 is reciprocated when the printing machine is in operation. Pivotally secured to the link 60 by a pin 70 is a lever 71 which is pivoted upon the shaft 58, the arrangement being such that when the link 63 is reciprocated, this reciprocatory motion is imparted to the link 60 which then oscillates the lever 7l around its pivotal axis. The lever 71 is preferably provided with a plurality of apertures 73 adapted to receive the pin 7 0 so that the link 60 can be secured to the lever 71 at a plurality of distances fromthe shaft 58. Obviously, the closer the pin is positionedrelative to the shaft 58, the greater will be the angle through which the lever 71 is oscillated by the link 60. l Pivoted upon the lever 71 is a pawl 75 engageable with a ratghet 76 which is rigidly secured to the shaft 58. Constrained to rotate with the shaft 58 is a pinion 78 which meshes with a gear 79 secured to the shaft 52.

It is readily understood that when the lever 71 is oscillated, the pawl 75 will advance the ratchet 76 in a step-by-step manner so that the `pinion 78 will impart the same movement to the roller 50 through the medium of the gear 79 and the shaft 52. The roller 50 will, of course,"advance thebelt 47 in a like manner so that printed articles discharged upon the belt 47 one at a time by the belt 39 from are rods 85 which preferably projectbeyond the discharge end of the conveyer 22,

the construction being such that the rods 85 may-be brought into a plurality of adjusted positions with respect to the rollers 41 so that cards or other printed articles of diiferent f sizesmay be correctly positioned upon the conveyer belt-47. Thus, if relatively'long cards or sheets are being printed, the rods may be positioned substantially as shown in Fig. 3, and the cards will, barely engage the rods 85 when they drop from the conveyer.

belt'39 to the conveyer belt- 47, but if the articles being printed are relatively short, the

rods 85 are preferablybrought into positions,

wherein .they extend a relatively large distance beyond the discharge end of the con-i veyer 22 so that the articles may slide downward upon the rods 85 when they drop from the conveyer belt 39 to the conveyer belt 47. This insures that relatively small cards will not be turned into undesirable positions when they drop upon the conveyer belt 47.

ll also provide means for bringing the receiving end of the conveyer 20 into a plurality of adjusted positions to take care of cards of different sizes. Thus, Iprovide bars 88 each of which has one of its ends pivotally secured to one of the bars 55, the 4free ends of the bars 88 being engageable with detents 89 formed in bars 9.0 rigidly: secured to two of the legs 19. Obviously, ifthe` free ends of the bars 88 are positioned in the lowermost detents 89, the receiving end of the conveyer 20 will be spaced Iarelatively large distance from the discharge end .of the conveyer 224 of the conveyer 22. Of course, the free ends i of the bars 88 may be positioned in intermediate detents to bring the receiving end of the conveyer 20 into any desired position relative to the discharge end of the conveyer 22. It is readily understood, therefore, that the rods 85 and the adjustable feature of the receiving end of the conveyer 20 permit the apparatus to be adj usted for cards, envelopes, sheets of paper or the like of different sizes. The roller 51 at the discharge end of the conveyer 20 is preferably mounted upon ashaft 93, rotatably journaled in brackets 94 which are rigidly secured to two of the leY s 19.

To hold the printed articles in pace upon the belt 39 when they are being transferred from the printing machine 10 to the belt 47,

I preferably provide" mechanism which comprises sheaves 96 and 97 over which relatively narrow belts or strings 95 are trained,` the sheaves 96 being preferably ofv relatively heavy construction and are preferably mounted upon a shaft -98 .rotatably and slidably journaled in substantially vertical slots 99 formed in the bracket 45. The sheaves 97 are mounted upon a shaft 101 rotatably journaled in the free ends of the bars 44. When the apparatus is in operation, the frictional engagement of the belts or strings 95 and the sheaves 96 with the belt 39 causes the belts or strings 95 to be advanced in unison with the belt 39.- Of course, the printed articles pass between the belts or strings 95 and the belt 39 and are retained against accidental displacement relative to belt 39.

The aforementioned heating device 24 may be of any suitable construction but for the purpose of illustration, I have shown an electrical resistance 103 mounted in a box-like housing 104 suspended from the table top 17 by brackets 106, or the equivalent. The bottom side of the box 104 isj preferably open so that when the resistance is subjected to an electrical current, the heat radiating from the resistance will dry the ink upon the articles 49 as they pass beneath the resistance. The resistance 103 may be connected to any suitable source of electrical energy. v

When the above described apparatus'n is in operation, the articles to be printed are fed to the rolls 14 and 15 by the feeding apparatus 11 and are discharged from the rolls 14 and 15 on to the conveyer belt 39 which discharges them on to the conveyer belt 47. Of course, in the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the articles being printed are passed between the roll`s" 14 and 15 one at a time and are delivered in this manner to the conveyer belt 39 which then delivers them one at a time to the conveyer belt 47. It is readily understood that as the conveyer belt l 47 is advanced in a step-by-step manner during the operation of the apparatus, the cards will be distributed a`l9ng this conveyer belt as illustrated in Fig. 3. Theiapparatus may be arranged so that the printed portions of each article will'not come in engagement with any portion of another'artlcle but in practice, it has been found that the articles `rest upon each other so lightly, that there is no tendency to blur the printing even if the printing is engaged by another article. The heating device 24 dries the ink as the articles are advanced beneath it, and it is readily understood that areceptacle, or the equivalent, may be positioned beneath the discharge end of the conveyer 20 to receive the articles when they are discharged therefrom. If desired, an attendant may c ollect the articles when they arrive at the dlscharge end of the conveyer 20.

While I have shown the frame 16 formed proper for 'the conveyer 20. I also contemf plate apparatus of this kind described wherein the conveyer 20 extends away from the frame 16 and does not pass underneath it butv it isobvious that the illust-rated form of the invention is advantageous in that itis compact and convenient.

Havingfthus described my invention', it is obvious that various immaterial modifications may be made in the 'same without de-` parting from the spirit of my invention;4

hence I do not'wish to b understood as limiting myself to the eXac "form, construction,. arrangement and combination of parts herein shown and described, or uses mentioned.

What I claim as new andA desire to secure..

by LettersPatent'is: y

`1. Thecombination withna printing machine, of a conveyer forreceiving'vthe printed articles, means for advancing the conveyer andmeans for securing the receiving end of the conveyer in a pluralityof adjusted positionsjwith respectto the printing machine.

2. Apparatus for drying the ink upon articles printed in a printing press, said apparatus comprising a conveyer, andmeans operatively connected to the printing press for intermittently advancing the conveyer, said advancing means including means for regulating the distance travelled by the conveyer each time it is advanced. 3. Apparatus for drying the ink upon articles printed in a printing press, said apparatus comprising a conveyer for receiving the printed articles, means for depositing said printed articles upon the conveyer in overlapping relation, and means for accelerating the drying of articles carried by said conveyer, said means being arranged above the conveyer and between the press and the conveyer, and the means for depositing the printed articles upon said conveyer. Q

4. Apparatus for drying the ink upon articles printed in -a printing press, said apparatus comprising a conveyer adapted yto receive the printed articles from the printing press, a second conveyer to receive the printed articles from the first-mentioned conveyer, and means for bringing'the receiving end of said second conveyer into a plurality of ad- 5 conveyer, and means movable-longitudinally 130 of the lirst-mentioned conveyer forv guiding the printed articles into predetermined positions upon the second conveyer. 6. Apparatus for drying the ink onartilcles printed in a printing press, said apparatvs comprisin a conveyer, means for depositing said printed articles upon the conveyer in overlapping relation, and means for subjecting said `printed articles to hea While they are on the conveyer.

7`. Apparatus for drying the ink upon articles printed in a printing press, said apparatus comprising a conveyer, means for guiding said printed articles from the printing press to said conveyer, and means for bringing the receiving end of said conveyerinto a plurality of ad]usted positions with respect to the printing press.

8. Apparatus for drying the ink upon'articles printed in a printing press, said apparatus comprising a conveyer adapted to receive the printed articles from the printing press, means moving With said conveyer for preventing displacement of articles on said conveyer, a second conveyer to receive the printed articles from the first mentioned conveyer, and means for bringing the end of said second conveyer into a plurality of ad- )usted positions With respect to the discharge end of the first mentioned conveyer.

9. Apparatus for drying the ink upon articles printed in a printing press, said appaf ratus comprising a lconveyer adapted to receive the printed articles from the printing press, a second conveyer adapted to receive the printed articles from the first mentioned conveyer, means moving with said first mentioned conveyer for preventing displacement of articles thereon, and means movable longitudinally of the first mentioned conveyer for guiding the printed articles into '.a predetermined position upon the second conveyer. v

10. In an apparatus for drying the ink upon articles printed in a printing press, a belt conveyer including an inclined portion, and a plurality of belts frictionally engaged by said inclined portion of the conveyer, so as to be movable therewith and so as to engage articles therebetween for preventing displacement of articles on said conveyer.

In testimony whereof, I have lhereunto signed my name.

CLAUDE L. POST. 

